After a short summer search, Marist announced the hiring of Lance Ratchford as its new head baseball coach on Monday.
Ratchford served as an assistant under former Marist coach Chris Tracz from 2016-2018, a stint that included a MAAC championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Tracz compiled a 315-282 record in Poughkeepsie since 2010 but left to take the same job at Army this summer.
“This is a dream come true for me and my family and I’m so grateful to be the next head baseball coach at Marist College,” Ratchford said in the press release. “This is an incredible opportunity and I like to thank Athletic Director Tim Murray, President Kevin Weinman, and Executive Vice President Geoffrey Brackett for choosing me to be their next leader. I’m excited to get to work and continue the long tradition of success this program is known for. During my time here at Marist we were able to build and do some special things, and I’m so grateful to be back. This is a special campus and we are so happy to be part of this family. Thank you.”
Ratchford played three seasons of college baseball at Mansfield University before transferring to Keystone College for his final year of eligibility. In the 2011 season, he hit .339 and was part of the Keystone team that made the Division III College World Series. He spent five years as an assistant at SUNY Oneonta before coming to Poughkeepsie.
After his assistant stint at Marist, Ratchford took the head job at Division III SUNY Cobleskill. He turned a program that went 3-28 the season before his arrival into a back-to-back North Atlantic Conference Western Division winners. He compiled a 60-56 record in his four years in Upstate New York.
Ratchford also has experience coaching in the Cape Cod summer league where he is an assistant for the Brewster Whitecaps and has worked with over 80 MLB draft picks.
Marist baseball is coming off a 29-17 season and a second-place finish in the MAAC. The Red Foxes disappointed in the postseason, losing the first two games they played in the MAAC Tournament to end their season.
Photo from Twitter
